“Two Iron Dome batteries have been deployed in northern Israel over the past few days, the IDF said on Sunday,” reports Ynet News. “One battery of the missile-defense system was deployed in the Krayot area, while the other was installed in the Galilee region. Additional, fully operational batteries have already been deployed in the Haifa are and in other locations. About a week ago the security establishment successfully tested an upgraded version of the Iron Dome rocket defense system in Israel’s central region. The upgrades are designed to give the Iron Dome ‘improved capabilities against an unprecedented range of threats,’ the Defense Ministry said. ‘The test, which was completed successfully, will lead to an upgrade in Iron Dome’s operational capabilities.'”

Meanwhile, Ynet also reports: “The defense establishment’s concerns about the potential threat of chemical weapons from Syria and Hezbollah has not gone unnoticed by the Israeli public. The Israel Postal Serivce reported Wednesday that more Israelis are updating their gas masks and ABC kits. In fact, the number of Israelis changing their nonconventional warfare protection kits has nearly tripled over the past month. The public demand can be attributed to recent upheaval in Syria and the alarming possibility that the regime’s arsenal of nonconventional weapons may find its way to Hezbollah, as was implied by IAF Chief Maj.-Gen. Amir Eshel Tuesday. ‘Syria is undergoing tectonic changes. Given its massive arsenals, Israel may find itself dealing with nonconventional weapons on its borders,’ Eshel said.”

Joel C. Rosenberg (www.joelrosenberg.com) is the New York Times best-selling author of 10 novels and five non-fiction books, with more than 3 million copies sold. He is also the Founder and Chairman of The Joshua Fund (www.joshuafund.com). His books include: The Last Jihad (2002) The Last Days (2003) The Ezekiel Option (2005) The Copper Scroll (2006) Epicenter: Why ... Continue reading →